


Prelude

by Leny_Teeth



Series: Sticks in a Bundle [1]
Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: Blood, Dysfunctional Family, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Grown!Gents, Minor Character Death, Minor Violence, Tiny!Lads, minecraft au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-04-25
Updated: 2014-04-27
Packaged: 2018-01-20 18:58:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,996
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1521974
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Leny_Teeth/pseuds/Leny_Teeth
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He had been alone far too long. The stillness of the night was starting to get to him. He needed not to be alone anymore. And when he finally gets his new family, he wasn’t going to let them go.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Geoff

**Author's Note:**

> Just a silly story that won't leave me alone

_It was like waking up to a nightmare. At first he was confused as to why he was awake at this hour of the night, but then he got his answer. The explosions rocked the ground and lit up the dark bedroom, the dull thud of arrows hitting the sandstone houses or the intended target with a soft wet squish, and the low moaning groan of the dead, the gnashing of the dead’s teeth._

_He moved quickly, trying to blot out the screams of his neighbors, waking his family and sending them into the mine that started underneath the home with clear instructions to head towards the mountain. He waited until the light of their torch disappeared completely into the dimly light cave._

_He prayed that the explosions hadn’t knocked the torches off the wall or caused a collapse, as another was set off, this time tearing away the front of their home._

_Grabbing his iron sword from his inventory he surged forwards into the darkness._

\--

Geoff noticed the noise, or lack of thereof first. He and his family lived near the center of a bustling town, it was never this quiet even at night, but all he could hear now was the rustling of leaves and grass. His stomach filled with lead as he took a deep breath he opened his eyes to survey the area in which he spawned in. Gone was the alabaster sand, gone were the matching houses, and gone was the oppressive heat.

_Gone_

It took him less than a microsecond to realize this grassy glen wasn’t his original spawn point either. He wasn’t on top of a snow covered mountain. No, his pained gaze was met with rolling green hills, dappled with oak and spruce trees, which lazily dipped into the waiting ocean.

He turned on around, barely taking in the forest and more hills, more focusing on the fact that there was no one else there. His family hadn’t respawned to this new world with him, no one in their village had. Geoff sincerely hopped that it was because they hadn’t ended their cycle on the last world having successfully escaped, and were still alive together.

There was also the lack of civilization that bothered Geoff as he shook himself from his thoughts. He had only been to three different worlds, (well four now) but each of them had some sort of home or village or even a chest around the entrance port to the world. His stomach churned as he realized the truth

_He was all alone_

Geoff allowed himself to go into auto drive mode after that, and he kept his mine perfectly blank as he quickly made a dirt hut. By the time the sun sank beneath the horizon, he had a functional house. The bare essentials were all there: a crafting table, a furnace and a pile of soft long grass he had pulled to make a makeshift bed. Maybe if he was lucky, he would find some sheep tomorrow.

Lying down on the grass bed, he let himself cry. Deep pain filled sobs wracked his body, for his family, for his friends, for his home. Even though he knew there wasn’t anything he could do to get back to them, it didn’t make it hurt any less. After the tears subsided, he vowed it would be the only time he cried. He needed to survive.

He just hoped it got easier.

 

\--

 

Over the next several weeks it did. It was slow going, like a healing bone or deep flesh wound. If he poked at his thoughts too much, helplessness flared up like an infection. He busied himself by working on a monument that he hoped people would be able to see in the (rare) case they didn’t spawn right in front of it, where he had. He also built it so he could find home if, when, he adventured further into the new world. So far he had only gone far enough to get wood and to start a mine.

There were several times that he was thankful that his gift from the Universe was flight. He would’ve died several times while making his new “home”. Not that he wouldn’t of just spawned back in the mud hut next door, but that didn’t make death by impact hurt any less.

The days were long and hard, but on the nights he didn’t pass out from exhaustion, when he couldn’t get to sleep, were much worse. Instead of thinking about his family, he directed his thoughts to how empty this world felt. The monsters here seemed almost docile, as if there was no drive for destruction in their system. Of course that didn’t stop Geoff from cutting a swathe through their ranks.

The weirdest change, though, were from the creepers. The ticking time bombs in his last world were tall, dark green, and incredibly aggressive. These ones were smaller, only about shoulder high, more of a lime green than forest, and passive as shit. He had seen three so far, but had only been seen by one, and all he got was a warning hiss before it turned tail and run, apple clutched in its mouth.

Which was also weird because Geoff was damn sure that creepers didn’t eat

Maybe this new world of his was some sort of weird playground for the Universe or maybe even the Void. He wouldn’t put it passed the two deity-like entities from the creation stories.

As sleep finally settled around his head, he sent a half aware prayer to the two Gods.

_I don’t want to be alone anymore_

 

 

It took two months before his prayer was answered.

 


	2. Ryan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is some very minor violence/death in this one, if that's gonna bother you just skip the italics.

_They called him the Mad King, and while he was no king, his bloodlust drove_ had _driven him bit mad. He was the leader of the Highland Clan, a group of raiders that were charged with the raid and burning of at least four villages to the ground. It was harder to pillage the townships that had Builders living within. The near immortals would battle against each other, until one was defeated or the others spawns points were disturbed._

_They too had a village, where the weaker ones stayed put and their spawn points were embedded. However it was nothing more than a few mud huts and leather tents, high, high in the cold mountains. If one didn’t know the path up, whether Mundane or Builder, you’d die._

_He had decided to stay in their village a bit longer than usual, as one of his men was struggling to get over an arm wound. He needed the archer more than he would like to admit. He joked with his men that he was taking a bit of a “murder break”. He felt safe in his home in the center of the village, near the great fire that was kept going all day long, and that was his biggest mistake._

_He expected to have his life stolen in battle, by the swing of a Builder’s sword, or golems crushing arms, or even the bite of the undead._

_He didn’t expect to wake in the night in a fit of pain, staring up at his second in command, his brother-in-arms, crazed eyes, as his own sword was stabbed into his chest. The pain was unbearable as he respawned after respawned onto the sword. He counted to thirty before the pain blurred his mind, and the soft light of An Cruinne crept into his vision._

_He spat blood at his once brother, and hissed out,_

_“May An Folamh curse you and your blood!”_

_And died_

\--

The world that Déantóirí birthed him into next was warm. That was all Ryan could think as he sunk to his knees, coughing and hacking. When you were rebirthed, all of your previous ails and injuries were gone, however it appeared his body was still in shock of so many deaths within such a short period of time.

His vision blurred, as he rolled onto his hands, unable to stay upright as he struggled to breathe.

“Hey, are you alright!” A voice called to him,

Ryan looked up, the motion causing the world to swirl, briefly catching sight of shaggy black hair before he passed out.

\--

Geoff had been setting up things within his newly finished tower when he felt it. It was like a high pitched noise in the back of his head, sharp and alarming. However it was gone before he could fully grasp at what it could be. All thoughts and confusion were blown away at the sound of dry hacking of a set of fully alive lungs.

He quickly hurried to the front of the tower where he saw the new arrival. He was on his hands and knees at that point. The man swayed a bit, looking ready to keel over and die.

“Hey, are you alright!” Geoff hollered at the sandy haired man as he hurried towards him. The man looked up briefly, revealing ice blue eyes before they rolled back into his head and collapsed against the grass.

“Shit!” Geoff swore as he ran towards the downed man.

Carefully, he dragged the man over to his old mud hut that he had affectingly started calling Kung Fu House for some reason or another. Kicking in the door, Geoff was thankful he had left the bed he had slept on until recently, deciding to make a new one for his new home next door.

Once the sandy haired man was situated on extra bed, Geoff carefully looked over injuries and wondered what he had done to deserve this. Observing the strange clothes, (was that a skirt?) and the pained expression, even when out like a light. Why would the Universe send him someone who looked almost finished with this cycle? Maybe it was a trick from the Void.

The man slept on, giving him no answers.

\--

When Ryan awoke the second time in his new world, it was to warm, humid breath being huffed down onto him. It took a few moments to realize that yes, he was indoors, and yes there was a cow staring at him. The cow flapped it’s ears and him and gave a loud moo, chasing away any cobwebs of sleep from his mind.

“Hey! How’d you get in here again? Get out!” The voice from earlier snapped, and the lumbering beast shifted away from Ryan and moo’ed again, this time in a manner that spoke of how little fucks the animal gave. The man groaned, and began shoving the bovine out the door giving the Highlander a few moments to take in the man before him.

They looked similar in height and somewhat in build, the man was little more willowy than him, but that did nothing to soothe Ryan’s nerved about fighting him. He wore forest green leather, that by the looks of it had been folded over in some places to provide more protection, but Ryan never seen such craftsmanship, it had clearly been professionally tailored to the man.

As he turned back towards him, the sandy haired man could feel it. An Folamh’s gift to the Builders, the small pocket of void that each almost immortal could use to store things, the man’s was almost full, but still it was obvious.

As if to prove him right, the man pulled out a stone block to sit down on, facing him. Slowly, Ryan sat up, feeling awkward laying down in front of this man. He waited for the pain to start up again, but was pleasantly surprised when none flared up. He briefly let his hands wander up to his chest, feeling for any remaining abrasion or bruise, and sighed in relief when there were none.

“So do you always have such a bad reaction to world changing?” The man asked with a smirk, when Ryan was done, there was a slight accent, but that could easily be chalked up to them being from different worlds.

“Not that I can really remember, it is only the second time,” Ryan stated calmly.

“Hm, well the name is Geoff, and welcome to the most deserted world in the history of worlds!” The man, Geoff, commented dryly.

“Ryan,” he said leaning forwards to shake the offered hand, “and what do you mean by that?” he continued, confused as to what the other could mean by ‘deserted’

He couldn’t completely hide his discomfort as the man began to explain.

\--

The sun beat down on Ryan’s back as he helped Geoff till the land behind Kung Fu House, upturning the rich soil in order to start farming. Neither man had any gift or much skill with farming or dealing with plants at all. Ryan’s own gift from An Cruinne wasn’t nearly as impressive as Geoff. He couldn’t imagine the freedom the ability to fly would bring. His was his ability to survive. He could last days longer than most Builders without food or water, only a swing from an iron or diamond tool could cut his skin, everything else just left a bruise at best. He was also much strong than most men his size.

When he explained it to Geoff the man had been strangely in awe of his handful of small abilities. It still confused him as to why someone who could _fly_ would find not having to eat so fascinating.

Though Ryan thoroughly enjoyed the company of the older man, he still refused to talk about his life before this one. With his head clearer than it had been for ages, he felt some guilt at the terrible things he had done. Not enough to keep him up at night, but enough to be embarrassed about the wanton slaughter that typically filled his days.

Thankfully Geoff didn’t seem to mind that lack of info. He was also fairly tight lipped about his last life, only letting go that he had a family, and had lived in a mixed village in the middle of the desert. Ryan hadn’t been able to contain his surprise at the last one. He had never spoken to a Builder who had lived alongside Mundanes. He had asked several questions, much to Geoff’s confusion. Apparently there weren’t as many racial boundaries where he was from.

Ryan had decided to stay in the hut that was nestled next to behemoth that was Geoff’s tower. The other man offered several times for him to stay with him, even offering to build rooms if it was a privacy thing, (because in its current state the tower was a one floor one room building) but Ryan preferred the earthy house, it was comforting to him, and once he had added some skins, and furs, it really felt like a home.

Expect for the damn cow.

The bovine repeatedly found its way inside the house, make itself at home. Despite being frequently shooed away and threatened it had no effect on the creature whatsoever, so Ryan tricked it, trapped it and put it in a hole.

Much to Geoff’s horror

Even after trying to explain that when his people kept animals in holes it was to keep them safe and prevent them from wandering off the side of a cliff or into one of their many traps. No matter what he said could whip the look off the other man’s face.

Cultural differences seemed to a frequent topic when they finished a day’s work, and were sitting about waiting for their dinner to cook. So it wasn’t unusual when the two finished prepping the field, they set up a fire pit, sat down and talked. Turned out, their belief systems were interestingly similar, with some slight differences such as minor sacrifices and animals in holes.

Geoff’s names for the creatures that set the rules to existence were different and simpler; he called An Folamh The Void, and An Cruinne The Universe. The Void gifted them with their ‘inventory’ the small compact space they could access with just their thoughts, the Universe gave them gifts or powers to survive their worlds easier, and together they were in charge of the enteral cycle of respawn and rebirth, the forces of their limited immortality. Geoff was strangely picky about the names, while Ryan was not. He was fine with using the other names if it made his new companion more comfortable.

“Wait, so you are not the An Chéad Linbh?” at Geoff’s glare he amended, “the First Child I mean.”

“Of course not, I’ve lived in other worlds,” the black haired man huffed,

“It’s weird that we haven’t seen any sign of them yet. They appear when the world is created,” Ryan muttered, staring at the fire pit in front of them. “We’ve explored the south end of the contentment completely, but we haven’t done much after some plotting in the tundra.”

Geoff raised an eyebrow at his companion, “I remember it was your idea to turn around when we spotted those huge bear tracks, not to mention the howling wolves.” At Ryan’s huff, he amended, “Sounds like you are getting antsy.”

The sandy haired man had the decency to lightly blush and shrug awkwardly, “A little, this is the longest I’ve ever stayed in one place.”

“You’re more than welcome to leave. Just let me know, so we can get supplies ready for you. You also have to promise to come back when it has run out, it gets lonely, you know?”

Ryan smiled slightly, and nodded. And just like that the two began making plans for him to leave in the next couple of weeks. It would be exciting to move around and explore again, though part of him wished that Geoff would come with him, but he knew the man was more comfortable staying in one place, waiting for newcomers, so he didn’t push the subject.

He didn’t know why, but the north was calling to him,

And he was more than ready to answer that call

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So Ryan is here, and the chapter is like twice as long as the last one, I'm awesome right? Anyway, the different names for The Void and The Universe are kinda, but not really important. It is just to expand on the universe and the cultural differences. Anyway, its a Lad next, any guesses as to who? 
> 
> As always, you can always contact me on tumblr through leny-teeth

**Author's Note:**

> I know its super short, and a little OOC, but I promise they will get longer when the other boys get introduced. World building is also really hard. If there are any questions you can email me at irononapathy@gmail.com or message me on tumblr at teny-teeth.tumblr.com


End file.
